humidity warnings?

it is 60 degrees and cloudy here in seattle today and i can’t help but think of my wonderful friends in minneapolis suffering from the 100 degree heat warnings going on over there.  why can’t we just combine the two city temperatures to make it just right?

however, no complaints coming from this girl after the awesome weekend in seattle that we just had.  i recently just got back from a stint in minneapolis hanging out with good friends and family and thought i would share a few photos:

taking in a twins game

old fashioned bowling at bryant lake bowl

early birthday celebration with my mom and sisters (missing susan)!

the most fitting b-day gift for a newbie in seattle: hunter boots...thanks mom!

 

 

did that just happen?

as i sit here in ottumwa, iowa eating some of my mom’s infamous scrambled eggs, i have to be thankful that i made it here in once piece based on yesterday’s incidents.

after a lovely dinner at amore victoria wednesday night with some of my favorite ladies, i decided to stay in uptown instead of driving back home.  nothing out of the ordinary, right?

as i walk out of lindsay’s apartment to get to my car i realize, my car isn’t there.  oh crap. (insert worse words) my car was towed.  never the best way to start one’s day.  i walk to the lund’s grocery store to get some cash and call a cab to come pick me up to go to the impound lot.  the cab driver was quite entertaining, so that lifted my mood a bit….until i got to the impound lot and saw the enormous line of people waiting to get their cars.

there were probably about 100 of minneapolis’s finest people waiting in line.  after about 40 minutes in line my phone battery was about dead so that meant no more electronic entertainment.  i happened to grab one of the free magazines lund’s provides every season so i whipped that out and started reading it.  allow me to share the following conversations that come up:

old mechanic man: hey honey, looks like you at the wrong auction!
anna: right, i know.
old mechanic man:  i bet you like good food don’t ya honey?  do you like to cook?  i bet you like to cook good food.  you can try out any of those recipes in there on me, i will eat your cooking.
anna:  yes, i like to cook, i think i will pass on cooking you something, thanks.
old mechanic:  you are very pretty, looks like you work out, do you work out?  do you like to stay fit?  you are really pretty.  i hope you cook me something from that magazine.  (leaning closer) and i hope i get you for dessert.
anna:  thank you.  gross–no, you will not be getting me for dessert and i will not be cooking you anything.
random guy from behind: ah man she a hustler! watch out man, she ain’t playin’.
old mechanic man: i know, we have a feisty one.  are you married?
anna: no.
old mechanic man: you engaged?
anna: no.
old mechanic: you got a boyfriend?
anna: yes, and i plan on keeping him.
old mechanic: alright, 2 out of 3 in my favor, that ain’t bad!  so what kind of cars you buyin’ here?  you don’t seem like the type that buys cars.
anna: i am not here to buy any cars, my car got towed and i came to get it back.
old mechanic: oh well you don’t have to wait in line for that honey!  this is just the line for the car auction that starts at 10:30am, we are waiting for our numbers, go on up there.
anna:  you have to be kidding, you are serious?
everyone else in line: YES.  go on up to window #1!
anna: sweet thanks.
old mechanic: now you reaaaallly owe me dinner!

turns out cars that have been towed and haven’t been picked up for 90 days get auctioned off and are free game for anyone.  i learned something new….only cost me $138.

you can tell cars get towed quite a bit in the winter here, they provide a shuttle van that picks you up and drops you off at your car…they have to watch you start it.  as i get out of the van to go to my car, i step and eat it hard on a huge ice puddle.  legs flying up and landing straight on my butt.  the cherry on top.  i lay there for a second taking allll of this in.

the van slowly creeps over to me, and i hear “awwww honey, you alright? you bit that one hard!”

well, it can only go up from here, right??  could be worse i suppose, at least my car wasn’t getting auctioned off.

what a great way to welcome in the month of march with reaching almost 40 degrees today! the past few days i have been working diligently on getting orders entered in for stores so that the people of america can have their under armour.  being cooped up in the house on a computer isn’t always my favorite thing, but every once in awhile i don’t mind, especially when i have these.

thanks roomies, you really know the way to my heart.  not to mention created a new fan of farm and fleet.  i tell you, they really do have everything there.

later this week i am headed back to o-town to help my mom do some spring cleaning and fix up the house.  although, i won’t be surprised if we get side tracked with some serious pool playing and visits to the new brewery in town.  my mom’s latest thing is being a pool shark on friday nights.  her goal is to visit every place in town that has a pool table.  i am hoping maybe i can improve my skills since there is really no where to go but up.  should be a great time!

 

mmmmm

this weekend i hit up two eateries in south minneapolis that have been on my list to try for quite some time.  randomly, both places being on the smaller side where the waitress only needs to do a 180 turn to wait on the table next to you.  that is, if you are lucky enough to get a table to sit down.

kicking off the weekend with friday night we went to victors 1959 cafe to experience the most authentic cuban food minneapolis has to offer.  after eating creole shrimp, ropa vieja, and fried cheesecake with guava, i was ready to go dance the night away.  this place is awesome and i highly recommend trying it out.

i wrapped up the weekend this morning  with a trip to colossal cafe.  you all know i love a good egg sandwich so as soon as i heard about this place,  i needed to see what the hype was all about on their “best breakfast sandwiches.”  i could hardly believe the size of this place walking up to it.  we ordered our sandwiches and waited outside since the place is only 500 sq feet total which is about the size of my bedroom and kitchen combined.  they are known for their flappers, but i have to give them credit, they also make a perfectly cooked egg sandwich.

fun fact: both of these places were featured on one of my favorite tv shows; diners, drive-ins, and dives!

 

america’s got talent

wow peeps, it has been a busy few weeks!  however, generally when that happens a few good stories come out of the mix.

let’s first talk about america’s got talent.  i had a the pleasure of working two 14 hr days watching america’s mid-western folks audition to make this crazy show that airs on nbc.  i don’t know if i left with the impression that america has talent or america is truly crazy.  i think it was a mix.  have you ever seen a grown man seriously try to lasso a vacuum cleaner while riding around on a stick horse?  i met this guy too.

the first day i was standing right behind nick cannon who is the host of the show without knowing who he was other than having an inkling that he was someone famous.  he did have body guards so that was enough to tell me he was somebody, not to mention he looked slightly familiar.  turns out not only is he the host of the show but he is mariah carey’s husband as well.  who would have known?!  everyone.

in between checking out what america has to offer i was living up my dream as a cowgirl pretending i was famous.  maybe some day i too can have a life size figurine of myself.  cheers to living the dream…or at least pursuing it.

 

a trip to the hardware store

today i decided it was worth my extra efforts to go to the hardware store to have a spare key made for the house due to the incident yesterday of me locking myself out of my car and house being left stranded until my roommate could come save the day.  i have managed to lock myself IN my room, and OUT of the house within a span of a few months.  pretty impressive wouldn’t you say?  i think the next hobby i should take up is learning how to pick locks.

i did make use of my time being outside by shoveling both driveways…thank goodness for the shovel left out to entertain me.

anyhow, back to the hardware store.  go in and ask for a spare key, within minutes this silver gem is produced and $2.47 later i am out the door feeling good about myself for being productive.

i get back to my car to find this:

damn.  mending a broken mirror that some “person” (please insert mean name) ruined wasn’t a part of my errand list today.  what the heck? i was only gone for 5 minutes.  for my car it is almost like having an ear cut off, poor thing.  clearly i couldn’t continue driving around with my right side vision impaired….so i go back to visit the hardware store.  on my way back, i notice another car whose mirror had been turned but not totally broken off.  looks like i wasn’t the only victim.

temporary solution: duct tape.

i must admit, my car looks fairly ghetto right now with duct tape holding her ear on, however, it is better than nothing until she can get fixed.  things could always be worse i suppose and for that i am thankful.  plus, i now have an extra key encase i lock myself out again AND an extra roll of duct tape to help with future unforeseen emergencies.

 

first timer

can you believe that i have lived in the state of hockey for four years now and yesterday was my first time ever going to a professional hockey game?  sad, i know.

better late than never i suppose, the wild even pulled out a win against the phoenix coyotes.  a big thanks to these two for sweet club level tickets.  if you do go to a wild game and have the chance to try the carrot cake they serve there, do it.

the msp

this past weekend i missed home.

this reminds me of home, i miss my girls.

two wheels better than four?

i can’t think of a better way to see the wonderful city of minneaoplis than via the bicycle.

embarking on our tour de minneapolis

this past weekend my good friend emily came to visit from chicago so i wanted her to get a good taste of what the twin cities has to offer.  six bars later and feeling like a fried truffle tater tot; i think my friends and i accomplished that task.  what great fun!

starting the day with some of the best bloody's msp has to offer at ike's

wanting to catapult the day a bit, we headed to tugg’s for a rocket and left being new friends with the prairie dogs.

just when i thought i had tried about every fried food known to man, elsie’s provided me with the experience of fried .

mac’n'cheese.  gooey morsels of the original blue box fried artistically (via the triangle shape) to perfection…worth every calorie.

all in all, i must say when it comes to experiencing minneapolis, two wheels are often times much better than four.  can’t wait for the next visit em!