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Painting the Town

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I went out with a fellow empty-nesting friend the other day and she commented that she had themed her months so far; September was concerts, and October was friends. That's always a highly successful technique for me and I realized I had done so as well, with September being home projects and October bring friends, with an overlay of travel. So in the transition between the two, I bring you paint time! We went out to a stencil night at MetroNOME last week after neighborhood Patio Night, where we got to hang out with the fun people at Owl's Eye Art , screenprint a Roller Girls shirt, and use up a Craftapped BOGO. So all in all a super-successful night. Then, in preparation for moving the houseplants in from the summer, I redid the front plant table, which was looking very worn. I don't have a full before picture, but Trouble helps you get the gist: I painted the base black with some old spray paint: Then pulled out a stencil set I had purchased eons ago when I had taken a s...
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Not My Usual Culture Post

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Yesterday was all about different kinds of culture than we usually partake in: 1. Sports We started the day with our friends' annual marathon-watching party. I don't run, and Patrick's last big run was The Big Gay Race. But the Twin Cities Marathon is beautiful, and I love that our friends the McLaughlin's host a party at their place near the finish in every year to watch it. Always the best food and the best people, and some Democratic politicians giving high 5s (Nothing like the old days, when Paul Wellstone was there and people would stop for prolonged periods to talk to him and he would have to tell them to get on and finish the race — that man destroyed so many finish times!) I love the Marathon Party and the people at it. 2. Fashion We went to the opening of the Paris Couture show at the Minneapolis Institute for the Arts and it was incredible! The fashions themselves were gorgeous and I learned a little about the haut couture designation as well. But especially ...
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Three Great Meals, plus Cocktails

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Over the past week, we have been luck enough to go out to three outstanding meals (yes, we're trying to lean into empty nest). 1. Forepaugh's Forepaugh's was celebrating 50 years in business with a menu throwback to 1976, and we managed to get a coveted reservation on Tuesday night after my board meeting. That meant that we could get a whisky smash, a brandy alexander, oysters rockefeller, roast chicken, and bread pudding ... all for $20.79. For reference, a single cocktail in the bar is usually $20. It was busy as heck, and they were out of some of the food. But our service was absolutely outstanding, and we had a lot of fun. Forepaugh's has a lot of great memories for me. Will we be back again soon? Maybe! 2. Saffron I was able to get another coveted reservation, at the newly (re)opened Saffron, for Patrick's birthday on Thursday! We knew it was going to be a perfect night when we walked into the beautiful space and immediately saw our friends Kate and Kyle, who w...
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The Friendships You Hold

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I'm watching, from halfway across the country, Beatrix make new friends at college. I'm cheering her on as she gets to know them, and goes on adventures, and gets a concussion from being accidentally knocked in the back of the head with a lunch tray, and sits out on the North Lawn at night talking to them as the skunks wander through the brush. I'm loving her tell us about how her friends from school are doing in their new campuses, and what her circus friends are up to. It feels like an on-demand version of the Girl Scouts song about making new friends and keeping the old. One of my best friends from high school, Heather, was just here for her high school reunion. I went with her to the all-school part of the reunion on Friday night; she spent the night and we stayed up until 1am talking and picked up the conversation for several more hours over coffee yesterday morning. Spending time with her was FANTASTIC, remembering the friendship we had but also picking up where we ar...
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Two Shows, Should See

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This week we've been lucky enough to see two great performances! Monday night we went to Bull in a China Shop by Fortune's Fool Productions . It ticked so many boxes in advance for us: great company, exciting new work, set at a historical women's college, at a lovely little space (The Hive in Saint Paul), and FREE tickets (thanks to an MRAC grant). And we left even more impressed, because the performances were great and we really enjoyed ourselves. (I mean, we did come out and have to deal with a parenting-from-halfway-across-the-country situation, but that has nothing to do with the show.) Three more performances by the time you read this and very limited tickets remain — do yourself a favor and reserve some now ! Then, while you have your browser open, go over to Wonderlust Theater's webpage and get some tickets for A Star Full of Skies , which opened tonight. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one! I spent much of the day at the City of Minneapolis Arts and ...
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Out of my Gourd

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As well as doing more work, finishing some house projects, and spending more quality time with Patrick, I have wanted to create more. So, when we were up at the cabin and visited Vintage Village, I spent literally a few cents to buy some gourds from Jerry. The other day I washed them, sanded them down, and varnished them. (this is the project in process, never mind the mess in back) I mean, as projects go it was pretty basic, though I did also varnish to protect my rattan mushroom for my "Catmint and Confetti" garden at Summit. I'm not thrilled with the plate they are displayed on, and think I might find another bowl.  Still, I'm proud of the project and happy I did it, and think they look pretty good. I'm excited for more creativity to come. If I'm going to have to empty nest, I might as well get something out of it.
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Small Project Sunday - Political Version

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Patrick has been working hard all day putting things away up in the garage attic. So, since he was using the especially janky stairs a lot anyway, we decided to finally take on a project we had wanted to do for ages, and hang our plethora of old yard signs up there. (This was a project I was going to do on my own, but I'm glad Patrick stayed up to help. I get twitchy with staple guns). Front view: Clearly the place of honor: I'm really happy with this relatively simple project!
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