Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Showing Lori the City I Love!

I got to host Lori this past weekend and we had the best time!  She had never been to Minneapolis so it was fun to show her some of my favorite sights and introduce her to some of my favorite local restaurants.  Here is how we kept ourselves busy this weekend!

On Friday morning I picked her up from the airport and we headed to Minnehaha Falls which is a pretty waterfall in south Minneapolis that is about 10 minutes from the airport.  It was a beautiful day to see the falls as it was so sunny and warm out!


We had to take a waterfall selfie!
After walking around for a bit, we drove through an area called Uptown so she could see what that area is like, I ran an errand, and then we had lunch at a place I hadn't been to but had been wanting to try called Lagos Tacos.  The food was so good!

After stuffing ourselves with tacos, chips, and salsa, we went for a walk around part of Lake Harriet and then went to Wild Rumpus Bookstore which is this awesome children's book store in the Linden Hills area of Minneapolis.  It's a very unique story and just something I feel like everyone should see!  The store has lots of animals, like chickens, cats, chinchillas, birds, a lizard, etc.  There is so much to see so it's a great place to take kids (and animal lovers). 

One of the chickens walking around the store

There is usually one or two cats hanging out in the window.  The store was all decked out for Halloween!

After all of that exploring, we were pretty tired out so we went back to my place to relax for the rest of the evening.  I made dinner and we watched some HGTV.  We called it an early night as Lori got up super early for her flight that day!

On Saturday morning we woke up to a beautiful day.  The weather was in the low 50s which is pretty amazing for this time of year as it could certainly be MUCH cooler!  The sun was shining and the view from my balcony was so peaceful and beautiful.


We opted to go for a run in Phil's neighborhood instead of mine as the leaves in my neighborhood had dropped more than his and I knew of a good 4 mile flat route that we could do by his house.  Plus I had to check in on the cat that he's been pet sitting for as he was out of town for a bachelor party.  The area where we ran was so pretty as it is a wooded area with paved running and biking paths that follows a creek.



His neighborhood is so pretty right now.  When we were walking back to his house, this tree was seriously raining leaves - it felt like a magical fall day!


After our run, we stopped by his house so I could check in on Ted, the cat.  Phil LOVES this cat so much, I don't know what he will do when this long-term pet sitting arrangement ends (his owner is working on a contract out in LA and has been gone at least 80% of the time since January).  I also have fallen in love with Ted as he is the sweetest cat. 


Our next stop was Victor's 1959 Cafe for brunch!  It is a tiny little Cuban place close to Phil's house that has awesome food.  I started off with a sweetened cafe con leche which was so good!  Lori and I both had the hardest time picking our meals as there were so many good, interesting options!


After brunch we headed back to my condo, got ready for the day and then walked into downtown Minneapolis so I could show her what our city center is like.  We grabbed some coffee at Starbucks and then did a little browsing at some of the stores.  It was nice to be able to show her what our downtown was like.  Yes, it is smaller than other large cities but I think it has a lot to offer for its size (Banana Republic, Gap, Macy's, Target, Barnes and Noble, etc).  She could see why I missed living here as I can pretty much walk to most of the places I tend to shop at.

On Saturday night we went to church in my neighborhood and then went to Brasa for dinner, which is my favorite casual dining restaurant in Minneapolis!  Almost the entire menu is gluten free so it's a great place for me to eat as I can really order what I want instead of choosing from a limited number of options.  We ordered a selection of small plates to share and the food was SO good!

We had roasted pork, smoked beef with BBQ sauce, romaine and mozzarella salad, crispy yucca, and rice and pigeon peas with ham sofrito.  It was all delicious!
On Sunday we started off the day by going to a yoga sculpt class at the yoga studio by my house.  I love this class because it's a combo of cardio, strength training and stretching.  After the class, I made breakfast for us and we did a little exploring in my neighborhood.  It was fun to walk around and show her all the views in my neighborhood!




We capped off the weekend by going to my running club annual party.  I am on the board so needed to be there so was glad that Lori was up for coming along!

It was such a fun weekend and I think we struck a great balance of being out and about and having down time in the afternoons to read and chat.  I am also so glad that the weather was so nice as it made exploring on foot so much more enjoyable.  Lori came at the perfect time as the weather has shifted this week and it's much cooler!

How was your weekend?

19 comments:

missris said...

Oooh that sounds like such a fun weekend. Now I'm tempted to plan a visit to your city! It would definitely need to include the bookstore where a chicken just walks around :)

Marlys said...

Great weekend and the weather cooperated so that made it perfect! The food looked and sounded great and so happy she got to see Mpls! There is so much more of MN one could show her but it would take weeks!

Anonymous said...

Argh! I want to come visit so badly! My weekend was awesome since my bestie came for a visit.

Gracie said...

How beautiful. I definitely need to do a Minneapolis weekend some fall. The colors and the water are lovely.

katielookingforward said...

There's a cuban place in Minneapolis? I'm going to need to try it sometime!

Leigh said...

Sounds like such a fun weekend! You had some gorgeous weather too. But I have to ask- how come you have a warm looking scarf on in the waterfall picture if it was warm out? You've got me confused :)

Nora said...

I didn't know that you were on the board for you running club! That's so cool. Good for you =)

Love that you had a great weekend. You have such a fun city to show people.

Emilie said...

Ohhhh, Ted is so cute! I have a soft spot for all cats but especially orange kitties...I have two now! There are a couple bookstores nearby that also are home to a bunch of cats which I think is so cool.

My weekend was filled with moving! Thankfully the moving is done, the apartment is empty and clean and there are only a few more boxes to unpack so hopefully life will settle down a bit!

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

Looks like you had some amazing weather. I love that first shot of the river, taken from your apartment. The colors are so warm! Sounds like you had a really lovely weekend with a dear friend.

Jeanie said...

Sounds like a glorious time, Lisa. I'm glad you were able to have the gift of great weather so you could make the most of it. That morning photo from your window is dazzling!

What makes me think that sooner or later Phil may be adopting a cat. I highly recommend orange ones!

Stephany said...

Ah, that sounds like the most magical fall weekend there ever was. So glad the weather was nice when she came to visit. You seem like such an awesome host, too!

Charis Faith said...

So I asked Jess to help me with my pictures since I could NOT get them to load straight and they were all sideways.

LOVED your city!!!! Thank you so much for showing me all around and for such a fun weekend!

My parents thought the books I got were so cool!

Amber said...

Sounds like a great weekend! Minneapolis really is beautiful in the fall. I'm glad the weather worked out so well for you guys. It's so fun to host friends where you don't have to shift what your normal weekend schedule is like. All the stuff you guys did sounds like pretty much a perfect weekend to me :)

Ted is so cute! He reminds me of Webster (though much bigger haha)

Abby said...

Wow! What a fun weekend!! Man!! I totally took for granted the beauty of fall when I lived somewhere that had fall. *sigh*

Phil's cat sitting reminds me of "As Good As It Gets" with that dog. Lol. That's rough!

Looks like you and Lori had a wonderful weekend!!

Becky said...

Okay first off, your pictures are awesome. Secondly, how great that you and Lori can do so many active things together - running, yoga, etc. So glad you had a great time!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Looks like the perfect weekend for views and delicious food! :)

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

beautiful fall weekend! this one? not so much ha.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

What a beautiful city - wow! That fall picture is gorgeous! It sounds like you and Lori had a great time :-) The weather is nice hear too; I'm really enjoying it. It's not too often we have plus temperatures in November.

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Wow, your weather has really held out this year! I especially love the colors near Phil's house. My parents used to have a huge maple tree outside of their house and it was always so beautiful in the fall.

I love the bookstore. Is that OSHA approved? I had a neighbor who had chickens and I think someone ratted on him because one day they were just gone out of the blue.