Stay-cation Resource

Anyone who knows me knows that I am always looking for fun little places......to eat, to shop, to take classes, to introduce my family or friends to, to lose myself in, to enlighten me.  Maybe most of all, to bring me joy.  Friends pass on new places to try but last night, while getting my hair done at my wonderful friend Mandy's house, I came across a May 2013 Minnesota Monthly magazine.

 This issue lists the "12 Best Neighborhoods to explore now!" and I can't wait to start planning some fun days out!  Besides the eclectic neighborhoods to explore, this magazine also shares what is happening around town.  Music coming to the big and small venues (you will find me at the Dakota on May 15 to see jazz singer Jane Monheit), events like the May Day Parade put on by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and so many other joy inducing people, places and things.

This is a magazine with which I am going to get a subscription.  I went to Barnes and Noble today to get my own copy and have read it cover to cover multiple times.  It doesn't just share Minneapolis/St. Paul places and events but it explores out state Minnesota too.  I would suggest if you're putting together things to do this summer, that this magazine be one of your reference guides.  Maybe I'll see you when I'm out eating dinner at Parka with my husband or maybe you'll run into to me and my 16 year old photographer son at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.  If you hear giggling at the Edina Cinema, that would be me and my friend Wendy (we seem to find humor every where we go).  My daughter will be the one chasing the chickens around The Wild Rumpus Bookstore and my middle son will be competing in a disc golf competition at our local course.  If you see me at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, remind me of the time because I always lose any concept of time while studying art.

Even if you don't live in Minnesota, be creative in your adventures.  If you're going to eat out, don't just choose a chain restaurant.  Look for those corner cafes and locally owned places.  Buy clothes and jewelry from local artisans.  Make it a goal to visit all free free museums within 100 miles.  Support your local Little League or youth softball - there's nothing better than sitting in the sun, eating sunflower seeds and cheering for BOTH teams.  Buy a gift from a local boutique instead of a nationally recognized store.  Find a campsite that suits both grandparents and the youngest of campers.  Buy vegetables from the actual farmer rather than the grocery store.  Find a running group that suits your running style.   

I'm so excited to plan things to do this summer.  Look out family......I've got our "stay-cation" all planned.  And Jack, I don't care that you're 16 years old.  Eating breakfast with your mom on a Sunday morning at The Bachelor Brothers will be fulfilling to your stomach and my heart!

"Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can."  - Danny Kaye

Mini Photo Album/Brag Book

Mom, close your eyes!  This is a project I am working on for you for Mother's Day!  This is a great Grandma/Mom Brag Book or mini photo album.  It doesn't require many supplies and you can add as many pictures as you want.  The supplies you need are vertical format badge holders,

and colored paper with your favorite embellishments, some double sided tape, ribbon,

and a title for your book/album.

I cut out my title with pattern edged scissors.

I used the piece of cardboard that came with the badges to trace rectangles on my pink paper and then cut them out.

Add the title piece to the paper with double sided tape.

Add any embellishments you'd like.

Slide this piece into the badge holder.

Do the same for the badge holder that will be the back of the book/album.

Cut a piece of ribbon.  Thread the ribbon through the biggest hole and tie it in a bow.

Slide pictures into the other badge holders and you have a mini photo album or brag book. 

Mine doesn't have any pictures yet but it will before Mother's Day!

The MIA and The Bad Waitress

For those of you who were unable to make it to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Art in Bloom Festival this weekend.  I thought I would share a few pictures from our trip.  My daughter, friend Wendy and I visited the museum this afternoon.  What a lovely way to to spend the day!

My daughter "trying" to lift up the bouquet outside of the museum.

Me and my daughter.

My daughter next to a sand art painting and matching bouquet.

My favorite art/bouquet combination.  I love the simplicity.

My daughter's favorite - the peacock fine art piece and bouquet.

Two more interesting pieces.

The museum was packed but we had no trouble finding a place to park or finding the art work and flowers we wanted to see.  I love that my daughter recognizes pieces of fine art here and can speak knowledgeably about them (a wonderful testament to the Art Partner program at her elementary school AND having a mom that brought really little kids to the museum A LOT).  She even has her favorites that she has to visit every time we go!  Make sure you mark your calendars to visit Art in Bloom next year - I know we will!

After the museum, we went to The Bad Waitress Coffee Shop and Wine Bar that is located very close to the museum.  My daughter likes to go there because they have windows like big garage doors that they open so when you're sitting in a booth by these windows, it feels like you're sitting out on a patio.  When you walk into the shop, there is a counter by the front door where you can order take out.  If you want eat in just find a place to sit.  Once you sit down, the menus are at your table along with an order pad.  You find what you want on the menu, write the order number down on the pad, bring it to the counter to pay.  Then you sit back down and the waitress brings to you what you've ordered.  Here's a link to their website for more information and pictures of what a cute and fun place it is  www.thebadwaitress.com  As you can see by our pictures, we enjoyed ourselves.

Wouldn't it be great if every Sunday could be this enjoyable?!

"If we are ever to enjoy life, now is the time, not tomorrow or next year....  Today should always be our most wonderful day."  -Thomas Dreier

Great Cupcake Place

It was such a beautiful day outside that I thought I'd make a special dinner - utilizing our grill.  I made homemade potato salad and we put country-style pork ribs and asparagus on the grill.  We had flowers on the table and my daughter and I picked out a special dessert. 

We picked out fabulous cupcakes from Nadia Cakes in Maple Grove, MN (by Costco on Fountain Drive) as a special treat for our family.  Here's a link to their website www.nadiacakes.com  Check out their cupcake and cake menus along with their photo gallery of their incredibly creative treats!

Here's what we bought:

fresh strawberry

Starting from the blue one, going clockwise:  blue vanilla with cream cheese frosting and rock candy; peanut butter cup; salted caramel; Twix; and chocolate with vanilla frosting.

We didn't get out of the bakery with without my daughter wanting a treat to eat on the way home.  She picked out a strawberry and banana trifle.

Looks like it's delicious.

My daughter can't wait to bring her friends here.  They have the cutest seating area, besides the great pink booths.

The cupcakes were a huge hit with our family!  We will definitely be visiting Nadia Cakes again!

"Dream as if you'll live forever, eat cupcakes as if you'll die today."  -Unknown

Homemade TV Antenna

I just had to share this.  Partly because I think it's a little funny and partly because I think it's ingenious.  We have never had cable or dish TV.  We've relied on an antenna on each TV to improve reception.  We tried all kinds of antenna:  regular rabbit ears, one that looked like a halo and one that looked like bat wings.  They worked pretty good for a while but the stations would cut out once in a while so they weren't very reliable.

Now we have upgraded to digital TVs and THIS:

THIS is our new antenna and although it looks a little space-age, it works GREAT!!  My husband made one of these antennas for our oldest son's TV in the basement and for our TV in the family room. He soldered wire - copper & electrical,

attached copper wires to a dowel with zip ties,

And added an attachment to hook it up to the TV.

He followed most of the instructions he found on the Popular Mechanics website www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/tv/build-your-own-digital-tv-antenna

He never really follows all the directions in any project he does - he says he modifies them to make them better.  When you look at the plans on line,

the changes he made were that he soldered the wires together instead of placing them on washers and instead of taping the wires so they wouldn't touch, he just wrapped them around the wooden dowel (see pictures above).

I don't know that we'll ever get cable or dish TV.  We don't watch a whole lot of TV anyway but it sure is nice when we do watch, that the picture comes in CLEAR!

"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler."  -Albert Einstein

Fine Art & Flowers

One of my most favorite events at the Minneapolis Museum of Art starts tonight, April 25 and runs through Sunday, April 28.  I remember the first time I went to Art in Bloom.  I had just finished my junior year of college and my boyfriend at the time, knew that I loved art museums and flowers so he planned a trip to the MIA for Art in Bloom - that was 25 years ago.

What is Art in Bloom?  It is "a four-day festival of fresh floral arrangements and fine art."  Throughout the museum, there are wonderful floral arrangements that too could be described as art, displayed next to some amazing fine art pieces!  They are not just randomly placed arrangements.  Each one reflects or mirrors some aspect of the fine art it is partnered with.  Here are some examples from the MIA website.

Entrance to the museum is always free.  You can however, purchase tickets for a special event which takes place tomorrow.  Tomorrow there will be an Asian Fusion floral workshop.  (Today there was a demonstration of floral arrangements from around the world.)  Here's a link to the MIA website for more information www.artsmia.org/art-in-bloom-2013/

I'm hoping to visit the MIA sometime this weekend with my daughter.  We may even bring our sketch pads along and make a day of it!

"When I judge art, I take my painting and put it next to a God made object like a tree or flower.  If it clashes, it is not art."  -Paul Cezanne

Little Candle Holders

After a 12 hour work day, I'm so exhausted.  One of my best relaxation vices after a long day is a very hot bubble bath.  No bubble bath is complete without candles.  My favorite candles were made a few years ago by my daughter.  They require very little supplies and even less creative talent.

All you need is a glass candle holder, preferably one with a ridge,  (mine are like little glass plant pots); craft glue and some tiny seed beads.  Spread some glue with your finger along the edge of the candle holder.  Either roll the candle holder in the seed beads by using a low sided dish, or sprinkle the beads into the glue.  If you choose to sprinkle the beads, be sure to use a beading pad or paper towel under the  candle holder.  Beads bounce so if you are sprinkling over a table or counter top, beads that don't stick into the glue will bounce all over!

Here's what they look like after they dry.

These are another great Mother's Day gift idea.  I know I sure love mine!!!!

"How far that little candle throws its beams!  So shines a good deed in a naughty world."  -William Shakespeare

No Regrets

Tonight as I sit in front of my computer and reflect on the day, there were no crafts done; no great recipes followed or created; no museums visited or restaurants tried.  No fun websites found; no new blogs discovered.  HOWEVER, I did go to my weekly knitting group at my local yarn shop and there was advice dispensed; joy celebrated; compassion given; pain shared; and uplifting conversation had by all.  It was one of the most joyful days I have had in a long time!

I am the youngest in this knitting group by about 15 years.  While the others are grandmas or new mother-in-laws, I'm still in the throes of pre-teen and teenage angst.  Whatever problem I am going through with raising my children, they have already "been there, done that".  That's how one conversation started today.

I was telling the others how I had to have a conversation with my 16 year old in which I told him that he had hurt my feelings and that I am a person, not just his mom.  I am a daughter, a sister, a cousin, an aunt, a niece, a granddaughter......  As I was telling my story, others shared similar conversations they had with their children at some point in their lives.  We came to the conclusion that we all just want to be loved and to be cherished and valued as a person.

This led to a conversation about how we need to lift each other up EVERY DAY.  We need to be sensitive to the feelings of others and teach empathy to our children.  Seems simple but when was the last time you told your children you loved them?  When was the last time you told your spouse how proud you were of him/her?  When was the last time you told a friend what makes him/her special to you?

I remember being so heartbroken at my grandpa's funeral.  I was 33 years old and had two small children but I still felt like that little girl who used to spend time reading with her grandpa in the hammock in her grandparents' backyard.  The most comforting words I heard that day came from my mom.  As she hugged me she said, "You should have no regrets.  Grandpa knew you loved him and he loved you."

I don't want to ever say to myself, I wish I would have told my daughter that I loved her sense of style or I wish I would have framed that awesome photograph my son took and displayed it in a prominent location or I wish I would have a bigger fuss over my son winning an academic award or I wish I would have told my husband what a great dad he is or I wish I would have told my friend that my favorite thing about her is creativity..........

So, from this day forward, as well as looking for something positive each day, I pledge to lift up those around me.   I will not live my life with regrets.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."  -1 Thessalonians 5:11

Old Made New

With it snowing outside and everyone safely tucked in at home, I got out my craft supplies and started on a project that I been inspired to do after going to the Junk Bonanza last weekend. 

I took out some old fabric and burlap,

an old tart tin (my Junk Bonanza find),

a vintage clip earring with the back clipped off,

and a magnet and went to work creating a new fridge/locker/message board magnet.

I cut the burlap using the outside of the tart tin as my guide.

I stitched the center to gather it a bit.

Next I cut a piece of fabric a bit smaller than the burlap piece

I put a dab of glue in the bottom of the tin and pressed the burlap into the glue.

Then I put glue on the fabric piece and pressed it onto the burlap.

I used a bit of jewelry glue to attach the vintage earring.

I also used the jewelry glue to attach the magnet to the back of the tin.

Here's my new magnet made out of old "stuff". 

Can't wait to make more!  I have lots of ideas using beads, yarn, tiny letters, paper, glitter and lots of other fun craft supplies!

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."  -Franklin D. Roosevelt