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Clearly, I’m a fan of margaritas since Barrio Tequila Bar is making a third appearance on my blog. (Also observed on Day 23 and Day 67.) It was a perfect patio night. This photo is somewhat of a role reversal, since I’m photographing our photographers.
P.S. Just like Where’s Waldo, can you find the Target logo?
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After several months of daily searching, late nights of online reading, talking with my parents, family and friends, and touring around the western Twin Cities for showings, I’m about to make one of my biggest investments ever. I’ve learned an incredible amount. Thanks to Uncle Jeff for helping me scout them out. Contingent upon a satisfactory inspection, I very soon will have a house to call my home.
Rhubarb pie is my favorite, and this was my first one of the summer. The pie crust was stubborn, but it rolled out to my will.
Best pie crust ever – Pastry for Double Crust Pie from Better Homes & Gardens. Three ingredients + water. You can do it!
Rhubarb filling:
5 cups chopped rhubarb
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3T. corn starch (or flour) to thicken
Before adding the pie filling, I lightly coat the bottom pie crust with sugar. For the top, beat an egg white and brush it on the top to get a golden look. Sprinkle top crust with sugar.
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Minneapolis and St. Paul are known as the Twin Cities, but they are decidedly fraternal. People joke that Minnesotans tend to have a preference for one or the other, particularly for nightlife. I guess I’m an example of that, since it was my first night out in downtown St. Paul since I moved back to Minnesota. I tried my first sushi, though to be honest, it was all cooked (shrimp and crab)…can’t do raw fish. It was good though salty, which in turn was complemented with a glass of Sapporo.
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I pledge allegiance to Expect More. Pay Less. However, I shop for groceries at multiple stores, so was excited that the newest Lund’s has opened in my backyard. (Not quite as close as Jewel which was 30 feet from my apartment building in Elmhurst, but it’s a block walk away.)
Built in 1912, the building was constructed by Reno Motor Company and housed a number of showrooms until the mid-1940s. After nearly eight years since it was proposed, the new Lund’s had its grand opening today (on Thursday when I took the photo). As a treat to myself, I stopped in for Bing cherries and gourmet cheese. My cousin Karen is a foodie at the Lund’s in Plymouth, but they didn’t have any samples after I walked home from the Twins vs. Phillies baseball game. A couple other things I love: they have Redbox and now I don’t have to drive to the closest one. They have Caribou coffee. And, they have a separate wines & spirits store, a restored 1914 building built by the Stur-Bullard Motor Company, once home to several car show rooms, including Nash and Ford. I love seeing historic buildings redeveloped for new uses, and I’ll drink to that!
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I have to wear a tie Monday through Thursday at work. Dress code, you know. Because the tie is one of only a few ways that guys can show some personality at the office, I own several of them. These are just the striped ties. I learned that I own 44, or 11 weeks worth of ties. Shocking, I know.
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I pass by First Baptist Church, next to the University of St. Thomas Law School, quite often. Though, I’ve never heard the bells. Neither did I today.
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The first time I saw the acronym “MOA” was in a script for a University of Minnesota Admissions skit to high school students. Unsure of what to do with it, I quickly pronounced it “Moe-ah” and hoped it would go unnoticed. It didn’t. Apparently, that is not what locals call the Mall of America. What did I know? I didn’t write the script, I reminded them; I was just reading it. The 70+ Admissions Ambassadors didn’t let me forget that for the rest of the fall recruiting season.
For out-of-town guests, visiting the Mall of America is somewhat of a right of passage. I prefer shopping at any of the three ‘Dales, but this is one tourist destination people visiting Minneapolis will surely be asked about back home. The call of the mall, I guess. So in that spirit, I shared the MOA experience with my Target Canada colleagues (their request).
We dined at Twin City Grill, and it was terrific as I’d expected. (It’s part of the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant portfolio and after trying a dozen of their concepts between Chicago and Minneapolis, there’s not a single one I haven’t liked.)
We walked through Nickelodeon Universe, Lego Imagination Center, American Girl Place (their stop not mine), and in true Midwest fashion, I ran into someone I know. My friend Megan, who I went to school with from K-12 and lives in Sioux Falls, spotted me circling the mall, which was totally unexpected and made my night.
And of course, I ended up buying something, too. Totally MOA.
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Lunch on Nicollet at The Local with my brother, a museum stop at Mill City Museum with my parents (the flour mill of the Washburn Crosby Co., today known as General Mills), and my cousin’s mega graduation party in Plymouth with family and the “Flamingo Friday” neighbors of Polaris Lane. What a day!
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