Fall

I always forget how much I love fall until it rolls around each year. I think it's partly because fall is typically quite fleeting in Minnesota; I swear sometimes it lasts three weeks. This is a bummer when it is your favorite season (especially since six months of winter is all you have to look forward to). Without further ado, some of the many reasons fall is awesome:

1. The weather. Specifically, the humidity goes back to livable levels. The last few weeks of summer are routinely 85+ degrees with the humidity at 75%+. You might be saying to yourself, "85 degrees! Fantastic!" Not for me. I grew up "up north" where it is almost always 10 degrees colder than the Twin Cities, and my ideal temp is closer to 65. Oh, plus now you can safely do things outside and still be able to breathe.

2. Football season starts! The Vikings, fantasy football - my life is now complete. The Vikings are the closest thing to religion in my family (I'm mostly serious). We've had season tickets almost my entire life, it's pretty much the only form of entertainment my entire family can agree on, it is the impetus for at least 50% of our phone calls and texts to each other, and game days are sacred time. Every job I've ever had, I've told them I can't work on Sundays. They always assume it's because of church, and I never correct them, because the Metrodome is my church.

3. Fall fashion. Fall clothing is both the most comfortable and the most sophisticated. Summer - too much skin, pedicures, swim suits, sweating (yuck). Winter - too many layers, shoes/boots that are not cute but at least keep you from falling or losing your toes, hat hair. Spring - um, does spring exist here? I guess spring fashion is mostly about avoiding all the dirty melting snow, so that sucks too. Fall though, fall is fantastic. Boots, scarves, trench coats, sweaters, rich colors.

4. The trees. We actually have trees here in Minnesota and the colors are amazing. I feel really bad for you if you live in, let's say, Phoenix, and all you have to look at are palm trees and cacti. Oh plus it smells great outside.

5. My birthday. My birthday is near the end of October and it has always given me something to look forward to. Not that I'm into presents or whatever, I just like having things like birthdays to remind me to reflect on the last year. And who doesn't like an excuse for a party or happy hour?

6. Halloween! If you don't understand why Halloween is so awesome, we probably shouldn't friends.

Yay fall! Please stick around for at least four weeks this year!

"Don't Stop Believin'"

I have always really liked this song (honestly, who doesn't?) but my absolute love for this song did not occur until September 27, 2009. I'm not sure that anyone besides die-hard sports fans will understand this, but this is my favorite song ever because of one football play in an early season game. Okay, so here is the play (in case you don't remember - haha).

Now let me explain what the hell this play has to do with a Journey song from 1981. So (obviously) my family and I are huge Vikings fans. During the summer of 2009, the completely improbable happened and we ended up with Brett Favre as our quarterback. We all spent 20 years completely hating Favre's guts so this alone felt like living in the twilight zone (an analogy for the uninitiated- imagine you have been a devout Catholic your entire life and you walk into church one day to find that Satan is your new priest). At the time this play occurred, it was still early in the season and most real fans were not totally sure what to think of Favre. He'd been pretty good the first couple of games but not anything fantastic. For obvious reasons, we were wary to trust the guy we'd hated for years. This play changed all that - because after this play (pardon the cheesiness) we collectively started to believe.

You may be asking "one play? you completely made up your mind in one play?" Well it was the end of game, we were down by four, we were about 40 yards from the end zone, and there were only 12 seconds left. Essentially one more play, and it would have to be a touchdown. So...the odds of this occurring were not good. In fact, a LOT of "fans" were already filing out of the Metrodome. We of course NEVER leave early (insert smug smile here).

"Okay, okay, enough about football, isn't this post supposed to be about a song??" Okay, so this no-name receiver ends up catching this impossible touchdown in very back of the end zone. Predictably, the stadium went nuts, and even more predictably, the play was soon under review. So as soon as they announce that it's under review, the entire stadium groans and then becomes silent. And right at this moment, when we are not sure whether to be ecstatic or morose (Vikings fans typically feel more of the latter), the opening piano riff of "Don't Stop Believin." Since you have already watched the previous clip of the play, you will know that we got to be ecstatic and it was one of those fantastic moments where you hug complete strangers and people are jumping up and down and you and 60,000 people all feel the same way at the same time.

I don't know if this post will make sense to anyone who wasn't there and wasn't a huge Vikings fan, but my brother has the same reaction to this song as I do (okay, so not exactly the same, I almost started crying the other day when I randomly heard it on the radio). So now every time I hear this song, even the "Glee" version, it reminds me of that one play and that feeling that *anything can happen.* And sometimes, that thing that happens is AMAZING. And I think it's good to always be reminded of that.

a haiku for AC

air conditioning
you are oh so wonderful
my dogs love you too

Puppies!

My parents got a new puppy last week. He is about eight weeks old and weighs eight pounds. He is SO adorable (I know, I know, they all are). We got to meet him last weekend but it kills me that my parents live four hours away and thus I am not able to play with him constantly. I know too, that since he is destined to be a "big dog," his tiny puppy phase will not last long. My husband is SO lucky that other people get puppies often enough that I get my puppy-fix without bringing more home to live with us.

Without further ado, here is RD (like "Artie") the german shepherd:




And the puppy parade continues...

This is Mabel, my cousin's golden retriever. They got her last winter. She is a LOT bigger now but this is how big she was when we first met her. (our dog Griffin was infatuated with her, as you can see)




This is our Griffin. He just turned two last month, and actually turned into a huge guy (for a corgi). He was the runt of the litter and now weighs almost 40 pounds. And geez was he ever cute.






And now the finale - Morgan! She is now five and has some major 'tude. We love her to pieces anyhow but good lord she was adorable. To paraphrase South Park, Griffin was "cute!" but Morgan was "super cute!"






*Disclaimer: As much as I LOVE puppies, I strongly encourage everyone to consider adopting all those adult dogs out there looking for homes. My family has adopted many wonderful adult dogs, both purebred and mixed breed, and they are just as wonderful as all of these puppies. :)

Clinique 3-Step Skin Care System

Okay, I'm getting back on the blogging wagon. I fell off, life has been crazy, what can I say. All I know is that I missed writing so I'm going to do my best to update more regularly. Anyhoo...

I don't typically fall in love with products. It's not that I'm against buying things, it's just that I'm much more likely to gush about a song, or a moment, or a friend (or honestly, usually my dogs). Honestly, I don't really even like Sex & the City. I'm just not *that* girl. So I shocked myself a bit when I realized that today I felt like writing about not just any product, but a relatively expensive set of department store products. The truth is, if something is brand-name or expensive, it takes even more to impress me. The cost-benefit ratio really has to be there for me to get on board. Despite this, Clinique has managed to impress me.

A little back story - I've struggled with low level acne since I was 14. It never got to the level where I was put on prescription medications, and many, many family members had struggled with acne so I blamed genetics. Over time I eventually accepted that I would have a permanent zit on my chin and would never be someone with "good skin." I tried various over-the-counter brands in numerous forms - washes, creams, toners, scrubs, masks, you name it. Most of these products rely on either salicyclic acid or benzoyl peroxide.

And then I got pregnant. And after a little research, found that both salicyclic acid and benzoyl peroxide are best avoided when pregnant. They fall into "category B," which for the uninitiated means "we don't know if it has any negative effects on the fetus because we haven't done any decent studies yet." The vast majority of drugs fall into this category. So anyhow, some doctors advise you to avoid salicyclic acid and benzoyl peroxide, and some don't.

After realizing every product I owned contained one of these ingredients, I decided I'd at least need some decent make-up to cover up all of the zits my crazy hormones would soon be producing. Off I went to the Clinique counter at Rosedale. As part of the "consultation," the saleswoman raved about their 3-step skin care system. I assume they have some kind of commission system for their salespeople, but I somehow allowed myself to be talked into spending $60 on three products - Liquid Facial Soap, Clarifying Lotion 4 (why they call this toner liquid a "lotion," I'm not quite sure), and the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. I NEVER do that kind of thing. Ask my family, I'm cheap. :)



But now, of course, I am SO glad that I spent that $60. In less than 48 hours, my face felt better to the touch and was lots less oily. And now, about a month later, I have gone two weeks without one active zit. Seriously, this hasn't happened since elementary school. It's amazing how much better it feels to not need concealer every single day. I'll admit, however, that part of the reason I think the products have been effective is that because I spent so much, I feel obligated to actually use all three products twice a day, every single day. But I don't really care why it works - I'm just glad it does. I was also worried I'd be stuck restocking these products pretty regularly but as you can see from the photo (taken today), you can hardly even tell I've used anything after nearly a month.

So yeah, two thumbs-up Clinique. And no, they are definitely not paying me - I wish! Then I'd be getting this stuff for free. :)

Longfellow Grill

Longfellow Grill in Minneapolis is our go-to dinner and brunch destination lately. Even though they don't take reservations and we sometimes have to wait awhile for a table, I am in love with this place (thankfully they do let you call ahead to get on the list!).

Longfellow is located just off the River Road on Lake St in Minneapolis, and just happens to be within walking distance to my brother & sister-in-law's house. I didn't even know the restaurant existed until they moved in to the neighborhood but am thankful they did!



Despite the fact that I am just now getting to the most important part - THE FOOD - do not be fooled! Even if this place was a dump (it's not), it would totally be worth it for the menu. My absolute favorite is the walleye burrito, made with fried walleye, lettuce, tomato, Tillamook cheddar, and the best from-scratch tartar sauce I've ever had. I am currently on a fish-restricted diet right now (only one meal of walleye a month) and I save it up just for this burrito. It's SO good! (also, it is only technically on their lunch menu, not dinner, but I've ordered it for dinner approximately 15 times now and nobody cares so yeah, don't be afraid to order it if it's after 4pm).

What else is good? Our favorite appetizer are tempura-battered green beans with plum dipping sauce. My husband and I can finish a basket of those in minutes. It's actually inspired us to try tempura frying basically every type vegetable we get this summer through our CSA. My husband is also a huge fan of their Tennessee bbq pork sandwich. He is a bit of a bbq sandwich connoisseur and loves this one. With your sandwich, you get french fries (awesome) or sweet potato fries (also awesome). Oh and the side salad is so good that I actually order it instead of fries sometimes just because it tastes good.

Finally, a discussion of Longfellow Grill would not be complete without mentioning their awesome brunch (some of the highlights from the brunch menu are also available all day long). They have amazing, huge waffles and pancakes, and many of their omelette and scrambler combos are unique but perfect. In any case, you have not lived until you have attempted to eat their blueberry waffles or french toast.

driving in sunny weather while listening to "The Joshua Tree"

"Where the Streets Have No Name" is one my absolute favorite track-ones ever. Those first chords fading-in is one of my favorite sounds in the entire world. The first 90 seconds of that song always make me feel like anything can happen, and when it does, it will be something awesome. Which I guess is pretty much all you can ever ask from the first song on your album.



The weather earlier this week was gorgeous - sunny and crisp and warm. I'm talking leave-your-jacket-at-home warm. I always keep "The Joshua Tree" in my car's CD player so that when a wonderful sunny day hits, it will be there ready to go. It doesn't even have to be warm out. The album actually sort of works better as a fall album than a summer album, but it has to be sunny for it to to be at its peak.



One of the other reasons I love listening to this album on sunny days while cruising along is that two summers ago my husband and I went on a trip to Ireland. It was amazing, the scenery was ridiculously gorgeous, I developed a taste for Jameson, and when we were on a bus tour of the west coast of the country, our tour guide played this album. At first I was shocked; it seemed like it must be somehow cliched for an Irish person to actually enjoy U2. But then I realized that despite Bono's self-important weirdness and The Edge calling himself The Edge, most people in Ireland really truly love U2 because they made some great frickin' records. That and it was a sunny day and were driving and it really just fit the moment beautifully.