Skip to main content

Sunday, March 20, 2011

The first thing I do when I get up is laundry. I don't do one or two loads a week like most people. I wait until I'm out of something and do 3 loads at once. Thus creating a backup in our laundry chute.

I then tackle our grocery list by finding meals to make for the next week.

West Bank on a Dreary Day



French Toast is Yummy

We decided to head to the West Bank's best crusty punk-breakfast joint, Hard Times. The food here is pretty rad as you can see, as is Riverside Plaza (aka Little Somalia), which is just a hope skip and jump down the road. I recently told someone that Minneapolis is characterless; this neighborhood bucks that trend. The combination of divey bars, college kids, breakfast co-ops, Somalis and the Wienery give this decaying neighborhood all the character in the world. Let's hope that the impending Central Corridor LRT development and the U's propensity to expand don't change this.


We needed to get some things at Menards. A trip to the hardware store is becoming a weekly habit. We looked for probably an hour for a new ceiling fan for our bedroom. We don't do air conditioning and with summer coming up a fan is much needed. After all that time looking we didn't find any we really liked.

We did find a new light fixture. I was impressed by Menards selection of lighting. From when I worked there a few years ago I remember everything being very generic so it was nice to see some new items. 


After 2 hours at Menards we then headed over to the Seward Co-op to get groceries.  

I've always wondered what people think when we roll up to the checkout with that big cart of groceries. The average co-op shopper seems to get what they need for that day or buy a little snack. Brooke and I are old school: we bring our own reused jars, fill 'em up and that ends up being most of our load, besides produce. Brooke's sis Chelsea recently opened our kitchen cabinets at home and said, "All you have is ingredients and not food" or something to that extent. That's the way we like it.



Sushi is on our menu this week which uses ingredients like kampyo. Luckily there is an awesome Asian supermarket in town that carries almost everything you can think of.

See this big pile of snow. Underneath all that is our garden. It's the only pile of snow left in our yard. I hope it melts before May. 

Anytime we bring home a plastic bag, which is rare, Peanut dashes across the room and immediately starts chewing on it.

As I've said many times in the past, this is why Peanut, despite his size, is a pipsqueak.

I finish up the laundry while Scott heats up dinner.

Lasagna Bolognese from the Italian food bible, the Silver SpoonThe photo I was taking turned out pretty horribly. That's life.


Dinning Room Chandalier 2

The strange shadows on Scott is caused by our new light fixture.


It took us almost four hours to put this bugger up Saturday night. Earlier that day I biked to the North Loop and picked up Twins tickets before they all sold out. I eventually ended up at Mohn Electric in Uptown. The Mr. Mohn helped me build the pendant portion that would hold the sphere in place. He was a life saver. For less then $100 we got the sphere from Patina and the pendant from Mohn. Now we have a fixture that is uniquely us.

The main reason we went to Menards was to get new outlet covers. It was at this point that Scott realized we didn't get any, instead we got switch plate covers.

Our boring day of running errands ends by going over to our friends housewarming party.  They had Arnie Palmer cocktails, which I think may be my new favorite drink. 



Good night blurry cam.

Comments

Amanda said…
Your stories are so interesting. I'm requesting blogging more often. Does anyone second that? ; ) LOVE the new light fixture...I gotta get there to see your house!
Amanda said…
Your stories are so interesting. I'm requesting blogging more often. Does anyone second that? ; ) LOVE the new light fixture...I gotta get there to see your house!

Popular posts from this blog

RV Spring Break: Savannah to Miami

Oh, hey, we made it to Savannah. Time for a nice stroll (well, as leisurely as Brooke will allow).   I was pretty excited to be going to Savannah, even if we could only stay for a few hours. The tricky thing with having an RV is finding a place to park. The Fahm Avenue parking lot had RV spots and then we walked over to the historic district. Meadow should go to the Savannah College of Art and Design. You know, if she can get a scholarship. Savannah is just as cool in person as you think. I should have done at least one house tour. I had to embarrass Meadow with taking her photo in front of the first Girl Scout Headquarters.  Brooke got me to go into the beautiful Catholic church right in the historic district. I don't think I've ever been in a Cathedral Basilica. Usually it's one or the other. It seems like every few blocks there was a perfect square. We should build all cities like this. For lunch we went to Savannah Smokehouse . We ended up getting the sampler for 2, whi...

Meadow's 12th Birthday Weekend

Our little gal was turning 12 this week. That meant a picnic in the park along Minneapolis' Minnehaha Creek. The kids and I were in a competition of who could get to 1,000 first. They had to spend 1,000 hours outside and I had to walk 1,000 miles. To be fair the kids started January 2024 and I started January of this year.  They beat me and decided their reward was to go to Minnesota's Largest Candy Store.  I'm trying to loose weight, Brooklyn. I always walk around with Brooke and the kids knowing I just want the homemade treats on the way out. We also picked up some crazy snacks for the upcoming 4th weekend up north. They had changed a few of their murals since we were here last.  We forgot to get the lemon candy apparently. Meadow wanted to go to her favorite pizza place for her birthday dinner. Sadly, Black Sheep only has one location left in the North Loop. At least it's the original location. Though I did love their Eat Street location. After dinner we walked thro...

Freaster Sunday

We decided to stay home for Easter this year. We've missed the past few years and seem to be okay with it. We still celebrate in our own way. For breakfast I made oat bran. This time I sweetened it with a little agave. Scott seems to think I only like my oats bland, but that's not true. I make truly interesting oats. Agave, my friends, does not make oatmeal tasty. If you're looking for a quick, but complex variation try this recipe the next time you have a few extra minutes -- unless you like bland-meal. Steel-cut Oats w/ Apple Chips, Raisins and Cinnamon 1 C Water 2/3 C Steel Cut Oats Handful of Apple Chips 1/4 C Raisins 2 T Brown Sugar 1 t Cinnamon Pinch of Salt Cook the first two ingredients for a few minutes over medium heat. When water starts to simmer lower heat and add dried fruit. Cook until tender. While still on heat add a teaspoon of cinnamon, two tablespoons brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Eat. Scott looked for his Easter ba...