falling back in love with minnesota

these past two years, chad and i have not really liked minnesota, especially in the winter. we love our friends and family here, but we were really ready for a change and were hoping to move as soon as i graduated grad school. we started brainstorming our dream city, debating living abroad and started to plan on doing so.  but, things happen and i landed a great job here in minneapolis. which lead to our decision that we will be staying in minnesota for at least another two years, if not indefinitely. we were trying so hard to get away, but things kept strongly pulling us back. so we will take it and instead of dreaming of where we should move to, we are gong to refocus and re-fall in love with minnesota. now, this isn't always easy. minnesota has some glorious spring, summer, and fall days, but the winters get rough. but, we are no longer going to let it bother us or complain about it. we are going to embrace it! with our decision to stay here, we are really trying to find all of the good things about winter in minnesota. like playing hockey at the outdoor rink, going on winter walks all bundled up, drinking a lot of tea, getting cozy with a nice book. and it is slowly working. little by little we are falling in love with all of the minnesota seasons. i do have to say, it is pretty nice here :)

satur (date)

aren't saturdays the best. 

i know everyone loves the weekend, but honestly what would people do with out this beautiful break of the weekend?! i know that i would go nuts. on the weekend, chad and i try to dedicate the morning of one of the days, to have a little date. this little date can mean having coffee in bed and listening to music, brunch, or getting out in minneapolis somewhere. the other day we ventured to one of our local favorites, spyhouse, to grab a cappuccino and to break away from the cold. it was the perfect little thing to warm us up. and though it was freezing outside, the sun was bright as ever and we had such beautiful. natural light. 

i have decided that morning saturdates are my favorite type of date. 

exploration!

hello friends! it's been a while. these past few days have been so busy fun that this corner of the internet has been ignored. i hope that your holiday season was great and was spent with good food and family! i have been fully taking advantage of not having classes or work last week. i read quite a few books, spent lots of time with my  family (especially my sisters!) and friends, and had quite a few holiday parties. it has been so great, though i am a little tired because all of this socialization has dramatically reduced my sleep, but not complaining because it has been so great!  the majority of my time has been spent with my sisters laurel and rosie, since laurel is visiting from colorado. we have been shopping, drinking coffee (an obvious thing to do when you are an anderson sister), and just hanging. the other day, minnesota hit a warm front and it was in the 40s. it was so beautiful out that laurel and i went on a long walk downtown. downtown minneapolis is filled with old buildings and beautiful paths. we spent a good few hours just taking it all in. like i always say, minneapolis is one of those little cities that people forget about, but it is gorgeous ( however i do recommend visiting in the summer, winter can be a bit chilly!).

 we were walking around in the golden hour, the sun was so bright! the snow made it even brighter! it really got me to thinking about how beautiful minnesota is. and though i do talk about moving, minneapolis you have a special place in my heart. especially when you have 40 degree days in december!

**the beautiful coloradian** 

as 2013 ends i just want to extend thanks to all of my family and friends who have helped me make it another year. this year has been one of many changes and challenges but i have to thank everyone for all of the support i have received.  2013 has been the craziest year to date for me, i got married to my favorite guy on the planet, started my second year of graduate school  (which left me little time for much else), and began to explore adulthood.  i have grown tremendously and as a result of all of the changes and challenges i feel that i have gained a better understanding of who i am and the different roles i have as wife, sister, daughter, and friend. 

 thank you family, friends, and readers, for being there for me and helping me evolve as a person in this year. i hope that the rest of your 2013 is safe and well, and i cannot wait for 2014!

chasing daylight

 

so minneapolis weather has still been a little weird. super chilly one day, where you have to be so bundled up and then the next, is hot humid day again. though the hot days are pretty much gone but chad and i were lucky enough to spend one the last warmer day with our friend JD, who happens to be an awesome photographer. we walked around lake of the isles (a lake i often forget about) and then went and go pizza at my favorite place, pizzeria lola. the whole night was a great summary of why minnesota summers are the best, especially when spent with friends. 

thanks JD for the awesome photos and the great company! 

so long summer

can you believe that it is almost september? where did the summer go, oh wait here in minnesota spring didn't come until mid may! normally i am all about fall but this year i am okay if it doesn't come for a while. this might be because i feel like this summer was so great, it was the first summer of our marriage and we were so blessed to do so many things -getting out to the lake, going on long walks, looking at the pretty sailboats on lake harriet and always picking up a little ice cream for me. it was so refreshing, just like how summer is suppose to be. also, nannying in the summer is always my favorite. there is just an abundance of activities and life all around you. it is so easy just to pack up your stuff and head out to the lake to walk and play, followed by a quick picnic lunch. truly what could be better? you just feel the exciting buzzing around with all of the kids running and screaming in the park. the other day the little babe and i headed out to the beach and did a little water grazing. it was so fun to see her reaction to the water and the coolness of it. then we headed over and made mini sand castles, though they were nothing to brag about, or take pictures of, it was so fun doing such a tactile activity with her. she really loves spending times outdoors and so do i, so we make a great outdoor team and spend as much time outside as we can!

... however fall is coming quicker then i realize. and these super hot days are coming to an end. for me, fall always seems like a new year. and i am excited for it. i am excited to see how things continue to change and develop as i am merging into "adulthood". though it is scary... and i am not quite ready for fall, i am ready for those pumpkin flavored beverages and crisp fall mornings. and apples. and the leaves changing colors. ah, fall here you come ready or not!

i spy...

i spy a girl sitting at spyhouse coffee. drinking her favorite cappunicco. on a nice summer day...

... i think that there are fewer things better then a cup of coffee with a friend on a saturday morning. especially if it is spyhouse coffee. if you are in the minneapolis area go check it out, hand crafted espresso beverages in two locations, (soon to be three, yay!) you will not regret it. my college roommates and i lived at spyhouse. we spent hours attempting to study and work on homework. it is the best.  

where are you peter pan?

i know i say it all the time but my sisters are truly the best... the only problem is my love-hate relationship that we are all growing up. we no longer live together- we don't get to annoy one another by fighting in the bathroom when you are already super late, or get to sprint up the stairs to run and steal that super cute shirt of your sisters when you have nothing to wear.  it's great because i now know where my clothes are 90% of the time but to be honest i miss the chaos. i miss the fact that we aren't just a few doors away. it's not fun being all spread out.

i get nervous with change. i don't know why because change is always happening. but i often think about how change will play a role in our sisterhood, how is it going to look like in a five years, are we still going to be just as close? i know the answer is obvious but it still get scared thinking about it. i don't want to be far apart. i just want to go back to all of us living together with mom and dad.  but that is not how growing up works. each of us are at such a unique place in our lives and realistically none of us are even close to the same life stage, i am married, working full time, and in grad school, laurel is in college, in colorado, and rosie is still in high school, and crazy as ever with being on the soccer team.  i know this is just all a big ramble but it is just one of those days that i hate growing up. but despite the facts that we are all "growing up",  i know that i am so lucky to have these ladies around me as we do get to go through each life stage together. you know you can loose a friend, but you can't loose a sister.

i know that life is always full of transition and though i am sad that we are growing up, i am even more thankful for all of the great memories that we have created with one another. and to be honest, the best is yet to come. thanks laurel and rosie for being my sisters, i love you forever.

and thank you for listening to my rambles of now wanting to grow up... but if you are out there peter pan, please sprinkle me with some of your magic so i don't have to grow up ;)

pianos & the park

in the summer there are several things that come to my mind of what to do with a little one... but the one i always go back to is the park. i love the park. and the kids love it too! they love to stare at the "older" kids, play on the swings, or even roll around in the grass. though my little nanny lady is only a year old, she has fully caught onto the fun aspects of play and if we walk by a park, she starts to holler to stop (they get so smart so young!) but i never mind. i think that little ones learn so much by playing and even falling down. they are able to develop both the fine and large motor skills they are necessarily for their future daily functioning. 

**all smiles when we get into the car, which isn't always the case, but sometimes she is just a peach saying "hi!" to all of the cars that pass us by, othertimes the car ride isn't as pleasent**

**i just love this little lady, and love that we are starting to share some snack with one another. the apple was a big risk but she just kinda nibbled off of mine, she is so interested in trying all of these new foods and textures, so everything is going into that mouth**

one of my favorite things this summer are all of the pianos located around the twin cities. i am not very familiar with the project but there is a several painted pianos located through out saint paul and minneapolis. these pianos are for public use so anyone can plop down and play a song. this little lady thought it was so so cool.

what do you do with your little ones during the summer?

life lately

my life lately via chad and i's iphone/instagram feed 

1 & 2// we went down to our dear friends, our former youth pastors in northfield a few weeks ago. we had such a blast hanging out and spending time with their family who we have grown close to over the past several years. this little lady, sally was the flower girl in our wedding and is just a gem! 3 &4// chad and i riding in our friends jeep with the top down. it was like a movie, a perfect summer night! 

 5// more chinese fire balloons, they are so fun! 6// baby at the lake. i think she already loves lakes as much as i do :) 7// dinner at brits pub for my dear friend kelly! i got this amazing pita wrap thing that somehow doesn't contain gluten. yum! 8// kel and i on her birthday. we have been friends for over ten years!

9// chad and i on a boat, what else is new ;) 10// if you are going to be at a lake, you gotta have berries! 11// isn't minneapolis just beautiful? 12// my sister laurel, who is biking across the country, was in minnesota over the 4th. so we naturally had to have a little sister time.  i miss her so much and cannot wait until she is home again!

13// my lover and i 14// plains of northern minnesota 15// soy beans 16// my favorite desert.... especially in the summer

other things that have been going on lately:

i recently started a new job at a local university as a research aid. i am loving it but am feeling a little overwhelmed. i am still nannying but decreased my hours. so to say it simply, i have been keeping myself pretty busy this summer with the two jobs while attending school and trying to be a wife/good family member/ and friend. i love it, but i just don't feel like i have enough time in the day. life is too short.

i am also on a strawberry kick. i feel like i am buying cartons like they are going out of business. they are just so so fresh right now i cant contain myself. good thing they are pretty reasonably priced right now!

french loving + a mom outfit

the end of the month can be good or bad if you are a budgeter. it can mean "oh shoot, we went over our budget, we gotta stay in" or it can mean "sweet we have a little more in our budget then we thought we so we can go out for dinner" last month we lucked out and had the latter. so we headed over to saint paul and ate at one of my favorite restaurants salut. its a french restaurant that is filled with character. and with me loving all things french it is even more amazing.

however while we were there i began to notice how mommy my outfit looks...khakis, button up, sandals... i cropped  part of the photo because it was so unbearable. in the photo you can't see that the khakis have polka dots on them.. and my button shirt was some how more flatter.. but i was haunted knowing that my mother, who i love dearly, would wear this same exact outfit.

in other regards we had a great weekend spent with friends outdoors on the lake. a post coming on that later!

linking up with sami! 

fit report: i'm an injured runner

today is a day to share a fit report. 

i really am wanting to incorporate healthy living more into my blog but it has been slightly difficult to make it apart of the blogging rotation. but, i am really am planning on getting better at this because i feel like play such a significant part in my life. and this is a lifestyle blog, therefore there should be some healthy living experts in the blog. 

i am planning on doing the healthy living posts sundays/monday. so we will see how this goes and if it is or is not good! 

moving on. 

just to refresh everyone, i have a weekly goal to try and be physically active 3-4/week. this went great last year. this year not so much. but i am actually getting better.

here is the fit report of last week

monday stair stepper 40 minutes

wednesday 30 minutes elliptical

thursday walked a total of 7 miles!

sunday 20 mile bike ride

it was a great week! i have tried getting back into my running, but unfortunately i have injured my knee so that means no running for a little bit. no marathon this year. i hope to recover soon because my inner runner is screaming get out there, enjoy the sun! go run! i am so torn. i miss it so much. but i am trying to find other methods of keeping myself active. and it has been going great.

chad and i finally got out to the minneapolis lakes and biked around! this is something that we have been doing for the past 3-4 years but because of the abnormal weather we have been having we hadn't gotten a chance to get out there until the other day. it reminded us of how much we love the city, how we can't wait to live in the city, and how we really really missed biking.

how did you stay active this week? i would love to hear! 

my favorite things about minnesota summers

ah the beauty of summer nights around a lake. living in minnesota we are so blessed to be surrounded by large masses of water. there are so many trails to go explore, fun walking paths filled with beautiful scenery. it is love. and this type of weather/beauty what makes me fall in love with minnesota again. yes we have crazy winters (especially this year!), but the second summer hits you fall in love. (until winter comes again)

but because i am on my summer sunshine high, i am going to be sharing five things that make me say yay about minnesota summers

1// coffee & gin rummy  by the lake with friends, three things that the kirseboms love

2// the beautiful minnesota lakes, filled with sailboats! 

3// my love, we have spent the last two summers apart ( i was in ny for an internship in 2010, and in 2011 chad worked at a summer camp in iowa) so it is such a treat to finally spend the summer months together again! i feel like we need to make up for lost time 

4//   cute little trolly cars. i haven't gone on one before but i would love to try and get on one this summer, they are so fun! (well at least they look like they are!)**

5// all of the pastels that you wear in the summer. they just scream its nice weather outside! 

what is your favorite part about summer?

looping for brunch

this weekend i...

.... got to go to brunch at my favorite place with my favorite guy! we decided we needed a relaxing sunday, the past week was a busy one and i had a major project due that evening, so we squeezed in some fun activities while we could! i got the italian buckwheat pancake that had a pear topping, and it was so delicious that i am dying to figure out a way to remake this at home. 

**staying dry ;) **

**the cutest little home-goods shop called foundry**

... did a little window shopping in the north loop. the north loop is a cute part of minneapolis that is filled with several old buildings that have turned into adorable shops. the majority of the products that a sold in these shops are american made, which is a fun way to support local business. i love going to these shops because i find so much inspiration for my dress and home decor.

the whole little date was a fun way to relax before i had to power through my assignment. 

did i mention i am still thinking about those pancakes?!

what did you do this weekend? 

linking up with sami and leeann