New Sweets in Town

This is a wonderful time to be alive and awake in Minneapolis. We have THREE new bakeries in South Minneapolis. We're a bit sad that Rustica headed for Uptown, but are quite glad that Patisserie 46, Sun Street Breads and Sweets Bakeshop have arrived and are in a lovely bikeable proximity from our house.

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If you're in the mood, may I suggest the amazing raspberry scones at Sun Street, where I got to meet the baker Solveig herself. She must slice open the dough and slather in the raspberries before sending them off to meet their fate in the oven. At Patisserie 46, there are no wrong turns. The almond croissant made me moan (quietly, of course, I'm Minnesotan) and their open face sandwich special one day with blue cheese, walnuts, fig preserves and endive was swoon worthy. I've only ventured into Sweets once and was impressed, but could only afford the small cupcakes, as shown above. They did make for the perfect little treats for my kids for an afternoon of tea party fun. My green macaron, the french variety, not the coconut kind, was delightful, if not a bit spooky, due to the odd green color. Yum, yes.

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You may want to check out what the local blog Heavy Table has to say about the "trifecta" we've landed. I second that.

Sewtropolis

A new little fabric store/ sewing studio has come to my neighborhood. We were sad to see the demise of Auntie Em's, a cute kid's book store, but also welcome this little gem. I attended their grand opening a week ago and am looking forward to seeing their stock when it is complete. Hopefully I'll be able to avoid trips to Joann Fabrics for the little things I need and instead skip a few blocks down street and support this local business. Check out their website and class listings.

Beet Love

At the Minneapolis Mill City Farmer's Market I found love. Beet love. Actually, carrot love too. There was a man selling a mixed bouquet of five different colors of beets. At the stall next door there was a young girl with mixed bouquets of beets, orange carrots and purple carrots. With bunches of beautiful vegetables like that, who needs flowers? I indulged my inner beet lover and bought both.

My kids aren't into beets and my husband is only a reluctant "if you insist on putting that on my salad" beet fan, so I was able to enjoy nearly every sweet, crimson globe of perfection myself.

Any other beet fans out there?

May Day Parade

Parade time!

Must have been a good one... Gus fell asleep for a while. I guess it WAS during his nap time and he DID have sunscreen in his eyes. Poor little guy.

Every year in Minneapolis there is a parade for May Day, sponsored by the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theater. It is truly an amazing feat, bringing together over 2,500 people and their costumes, many made of paper mache, and pulling off a themed parade.

This year's theme was related to the 35W Freeway bridge collapse that took place in August-- as a metaphor for the pace of our lives, as a bridge into the future. During the profound Ecumenical Memorial Service for the 13 citizens who perished in the river, Hamdy El-Sawaf of the Islamic Jurisprudence Council of Minnesota offered these words:

“If a bridge made of iron, steel and concrete can fall down, then a human bridge of faith, trust, confidence and hope must be established.”

We always say that this is the best time to people watch, as all the hippies, former hippies and wanna-be hippies come out of the woodwork. Gotta love the diversity of Minneapolis.

We brought a picnic and enjoyed the sights.

I think that is a mushroom on stilts. Fun Halloween costume idea, anyone?

Go Keith Ellison!
My brother Erik played in the parade.