La Joie! Everyday Joy....: Cute Places to Visit in NE Minneapolis

So, today did not go as I had planned. I had wanted to get up early, and head to Shakopee, MN (Canterbury Downs) for the Fall Junk Bonanza. I had decided to go by myself and had a few things that I was hoping to find: a funky stand for my gazing ball, a frame or tray that I could turn into a chalkboard and gloves made out of old sweaters created by my cousin's sister-in-law.

I got up later than I had wanted but sleeping in on a Saturday is not a bad thing I kept reassuring myself. As I was getting ready for the day, my oldest son thought it would be funny to scare me by jumping out from behind a closed door yelling, "AAAHHHH!!!" He got a scream out of me but then he felt really bad and gave me a big bear hug. It's not often I get hugs from this kiddo so I forgave him pretty quickly for almost giving me a heart attack. After my heart stopped racing, I was able to finish getting ready and head out for the Junk Bonanza.

Shakopee is about a 45 minute drive from my house so you can imagine my disappointment when I finally got to the entrance after fighting the pouring rain and wind with my "inside out" umbrella, realizing I did not have any cash, a cash card, my credit card or my driver's license. I had taken my wallet out of my purse last night when I went to the Coon Rapids High School Homecoming football game. I did not want to lug around a big purse while in the stands and I had forgotten to put the wallet back in my purse. So.........I turned around and drove the 45 minutes back home only to get home and realize that I indeed DID HAVE my wallet. I had forgotten that I had taken it out of the pocket of my sweatshirt when I got in my car after the game last night, then put it in the center console of my car.

Instead of driving the 45 minutes back to Shakopee, I decided to to do something a little close to home. There is a neighborhood in NE Minneapolis, about 10 miles from my house, that I had been wanting to visit. What a great little two block area this is (St. Anthony Parkway and Johnson Street). I found yummy donuts and pastries at Sarah Jane's Bakery.

I have a sick 14 year old son at home today and I knew these would be sure to put a smile on his face. Nothing tastes better when you are sick than a few glazed donuts! Besides sweet things, they had all types of breads and buns. The smell when I walked in was heavenly. Here is a link to the bakery's website. www.sarahjanesbakery.com

Across the street from the bakery is a very cute little coffee shop called The Coffee Shop NE. They serve a very wide variety of drinks - hot and cold. They also have sandwiches, snacks, soups, salads and breakfast items. There is a cute little sitting area with a few small tables in the front of the coffee shop but they also have a back room that is larger with more tables and some comfy chairs. I got a White Chocolate Mocha to go but I will definitely be going back to try out their food and some of their specialty drinks. Here is a link to their website for more information. www.thecoffeeshopne.com

Next, I walked down the sidewalk to a cute little shop called Crafty Planet. Anyone looking for some very unique fabric? This is definitely the place to go. They also have embroidery patterns, pillow case kits, yarn, sewing patterns, and books and magazines on knitting, crocheting and sewing. They offer all sorts of classes too. It has a real urban/hip feel. This is the link to their website. craftyplanet.com (They have an on-line store for those of you who can't make it to their Minneapolis location.)

Here are the goodies I purchased from Crafty Planet: a skirt pattern, thread, elastic, interfacing and fabric.

I am going to make the skirt third from the left. It's made with eight panels and an elastic waist. I love wearing skirts and can see myself make many of these.