Making Moves--Back to the Cities!

Ladies and gentlemen. This is monumental. After my six-month sabbatical from life, the time has come. I'm moving back to Minneapolis! 

I'm packing up my bags and boxes and heading to a beautiful complex right off Loring Park, which happens to be home to one of my all-time favorite brunch spots. The building is the coolest fusion of an old hospital building with a super sleek, contemporary renovation...and is it ever a saga how I ended up in my particular building!

Back in July, I toured the complex with my parents in tow and got myself on the wait list. In August, I got a great little unit that had been corporate housing, with an October 4th move-in date. It was white, it was bright, it was super clean and compact and just plain girly. And I got super excited.

A little over a week ago, I left a meeting at work and came back to my desk to find three voicemails from my leasing agent, each increasingly frantic. Turns out when the building's former property manager left, she had screwed up all the corporate housing lease renewals and entered them in the system as notices to vacate. My pretty apartment wasn't actually available. Cue panic attack. 

I immediately called my parents, who met me over there after work that afternoon. Michael, the property manager, was super accommodating and told us they would do whatever they could to remedy the situation. The beautiful thing about how the situation got remedied, though, is that it was a TOTAL win for me. You see, the first apartment Michael took us up to was this beautiful apartment on the top floor of the "historic" part of the building. It was 30 square feet bigger, the cabinets and finishes were all upgraded, there is exposed ductwork, and...be still my beating heart...it has a gas fireplace. My dad totally played up the "poor little girl who has no apartment, MAKE IT RIGHT" card, and Michael almost instantly agreed to match my original lease cost. Upgrade!!

It hardly feels real right now that I'm headed back to Minneapolis. This six-month sojourn in the suburbs has been exactly what I needed...a vacation from life, a sabbatical from the social whirl, a sweet, supportive oasis where my mom made my lunches and my dad made me laugh, where I went to bed to the words "I love you" every night and woke up to fresh coffee for the road. I can't discount that, especially as wounded and totally demolished as I was when I moved down here in April. This summer healed me so much faster than I thought was even possible, and I don't think "grateful" entirely captures the gamut of what I feel toward my parents for patiently providing me this escape. 

That said, there comes a point in every young lady's life when it's time once again to spread her wings and fly, and I can't wait to fly back downtown. The location is ideal for my commutes to work and for my Sunday family dinners, and my friends are spread out perfectly around me. I can't wait to have great restaurants and entertainment a walk away, rather than a half-hour drive. And the best part is that my safe little oasis isn't going to go away...it's just transforming to a corner apartment with a warm fire and cozy kitchen. I'm ready...here's to the Cities!

Weekend Update

My last weekend as a Minnesota suburbanite was just about as perfect as it could possibly have been. I've been going nonstop lately, and it was so nice to be able to step back and do a ton of really enjoyable things with people I love before diving right back into the cycle of straight-up craziness today!

On Friday, Andrew and Alyssa kindly invited Stu and me to be their guests for a private party hosted by Yelp at the Cowles Center. We met up early for cocktails on Union's roof and took advantage of the gorgeous evening...probably one of the last patio nights of the summer! The party was super fun--a ton of Twin Cities restaurants, bars, breweries and businesses offered samples of and discounts on their products. Particular favorites? The cutie working the Tin Whiskers Brewery's booth, and the photo booth that produced these pictures: 

Yep. Pretty cute, right? 

Saturday piqued my passion for all things house-and-design in a big way. My mom and I started off the morning with manicures at the lovely A La Mode, where I legitimately adore everyone and have never been unhappy with a mani...this time I went with classic red, and I'm loving it! We headed over to the Bachman's on Lyndale for the Fall 2014 Ideas House, where Bachman's designers use their florals and homewares to decorate a darling 1920s two-story home from top to bottom for the season. Look how cute this "Book Club" table setting was! 

Then Kelsie and I headed out, armed with cold presses, to hit up some million-dollar homes on the last weekend of the Parade of Homes! We checked out three of them...one gorgeous one with views of both Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles, one super-modern one in Edina, and this beauty: 

Um, yes. This is the porch: THE PORCH...

Sign me up. I'd sit out there even in negative forty-degree weather. With eight thousand square feet, a closet that was so big it had stairs, a full gym and half-basketball court in the basement, and three full bars (one on each floor, naturally), I pretty much wanted to move in right then and there. Off to find a husband to make me a trophy wife, stat!

And we hit up the Bulldog for dinner and sat outside and watched a cholo parade. I'm not kidding...genuinely about 20 pimped-out cars. It was a delightful night with my favorite dear old friend, and the perfect way to close out this suburban chapter of my life. 

And Sunday!! My mom and I took my grandma, who is one of my top 5 favorite people in the world, to the Minnesota Orchestra to see a performance of Barber's cello concerto and Mahler's Second Symphony...the "Resurrection" symphony. And this was our view: 

Front row seats. We had a perfect view of cello virtuoso Alisa Weilerstein, who absolutely dominated the Barber so hard she finished the performance actually dripping sweat, and of course I had an unobstructed sight line to Osmo Vänskä, my very favorite Finn. The Mahler utterly blew my mind--our seats were almost too close for a full, full orchestra, plus the Minnesota Chorale, plus amazing soprano and mezzo soloists. It was lush, it was evocative, it was intensely powerful. I clapped so hard at the end that my hands glowed pink half the way home! 

We "kidnapped" my grandma and drove her down to Lakeville after the show for one last grill-out. The day, sunny and 75, couldn't have been more perfect for burgers, salad, and of course a gin and tonic...but capping it off with Mom's to-die-for pear and apple crisp definitely felt like fall!

Now I'm ready to check out of summer: bring on cardigans, pumpkins, changing leaves, and chilly breezes. My last summer weekend more than met expectations!

The bizarre-ness of blogging.

I still can't get over how weird this whole "I write a blog" thing has been for me. Good-weird, for sure...but weird. Frankly, I'm shocked I've managed to keep this up for as long as I have without either just getting lazy and failing to update, or freaking out over how bizarre and moderately insane it is to even write a blog in the first place. 

I mean, me. Me!? Writing a blog? What on earth is interesting enough in my life to think anyone would want to read it, outside probably my mom? Writing a blog is such an inherently navel-gazing, self-centered thing to do. And to expect anyone to find what I have to say interesting? How self-absorbed can a person be, after all? And really, how do I even have the guts to do this? It's kind of terrifying to put myself so out there...to let myself be weird and spastic and hyperbolic and over-excited and personal and raw in so many ways. The fear of putting myself out there, sometimes, makes me question whether this whole thing is a fool's errand.

Then, however, I get to the "buts." But I love doing it. But it's a creative outlet. But for whatever reason people actually do read it...

The fact of the matter is that I am a creative person trapped in a world of analysis and hard, fast numbers. Don't get me wrong...I am good at accounting, I am decent at finance, and I am perfectly qualified for and capable of the job I hold. What makes me tick, though...what gives me the satisfaction in what I'm doing...is the time when I'm not crunching numbers or compiling spreadsheets, but drafting, editing, and focusing on our corporate communication, message and policies. I count myself incredibly lucky to have stumbled into a job where that comprises so much of my day-to-day. 

I love to communicate, and that in and of itself is why I love to write. But I'll never write the next great American novel...I'm nowhere near persistent or patient enough to do that. Blogging gives me this beautiful microcosm in which I can get the itch out of my fingertips through sheer contact with the keyboard. I'm finally getting to the point where I can take it as that: a relief, a pressure valve, a release. Who cares if someone out there finds my excitement about brunch, Anthropologie, Notre Dame and Taylor Swift utterly frivolous? This is a place where I can celebrate my voice and the things that matter to me, no matter how insignificant. My very favorite thing is when I'm writing and words are just coming to me...when I reach that state of flow where everything feels a little bit effortless...it's therapeutic and relaxing and fulfilling in a way that no job in accounting or finance ever probably will be for me. 

And then there's the public, shared aspect of this. It will never cease to make me self-conscious and proud and flattered and a little embarrassed every time someone in my life tells me they saw something on my blog. I've gotten several emails or Facebook messages from friends about things I've written...and my sweet friend Claire never fails to comment on every shared post with her feedback, which always makes my day! Any time it's brought to my attention that I've reached someone, in this weird, uniquely Millennial way, it makes me a little more sure that I like doing this, despite it's weirdness. 

So basically, after making it through that lengthy word-vomit, I just want to thank you, whoever you are reading this. I know it's a little bit weird and it does make me feel a bit odd...but do know that I'm having so much fun. 

The best relationships.

Guys, I'm having an enormous "Sex and the City" moment. In fact, I've 99% for sure decided I'm going to re-watch the entire show from start to finish as soon as is humanly possible. Specifically, I was Googling an outfit Charlotte wore because I think I have a similar sweater, and stumbled on this list of the best quotes from the show. And this jumped out at me so hard: 

Maybe we can be each other's soul mates. And then we can let men be just these great, nice guys to have fun with. -Charlotte York

I'm craving a celebration of female friendship, my "soulmates," and so, with that, I'm going to celebrate my girlfriends. 

You know who you are. I've made you have brunch, I've shared heart to hearts with you at Rojo, I've picked you up off the floor of a bar (or you've picked me up, same difference). We've gone shopping and gone on vacations. We've shared perfume and stories about boys. You've slept on my couch or, heck, in my bed, after a night out.

We know each other, in the best ways. Some of my girlfriends have been with me for a decade and counting. Others have made space in my life in a matter of months. Each one has supported me through every iteration of myself, being my mirror, forcing me to reflect just by their presence and influence in my development.

One of my greatest joys in this newish chapter of life these days is that I have so much more energy to devote to great relationships. When I was committed, so much of my time and focus was, by default, on the person I was in a relationship with...and whether I'm proud to admit it or not, my friends often fell by the wayside in the face of that bigger, "more significant" relationship. Now, instead of that, I'm valuing the ability to have a friend-date for dinner at the drop of a hat. To go out spontaneously to brunch and spend an afternoon shopping and discussing books and jobs and boys and families.

I feel like a better version of myself when I've talked things out ad nauseum with girls who can listen, and more importantly, identify...because they're there too. We've got careers, we've got ambitions and plans, and dreams of love and whatever is coming next. I absolutely relish the sense that I'm not alone...especially when actually being alone sometimes feels like it really sucks. 

This is veering into grossly sappy territory. I'm pretty sure if SATC's Samantha read this shit, she'd skewer me on her industrial-strength vibrator. I've probably waxed poetic enough for now, but I just can't get over how happy I am to have these great ladies in my life. After all...

They say nothing lasts forever: dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style. - Carrie Bradshaw

Summer Snapshots: Arts and Culture

Last "Summer Snapshot," I promise--especially in light of the fact that it is now, officially fall!

My family's always been hugely into culture. I saw my first Broadway musical ("Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," with Donny Osmond, duh) at the age of 5. We always had season tickets to The Children's Theater, and went to "The Nutcracker" or Lorie Line's concert or "A Christmas Carol" annually around the holidays. 

I'm so thankful to my parents for fostering a love of theatre in us early on in life. It's always been a priority to our family, so it's become a priority for me as a young adult to make sure I stay exposed to culture through the arts. As I mentioned, I'm getting plenty of Minnesota Orchestra action this year, but this summer was particularly rich with plays, musicals and opportunities to enjoy live performances in general. 

Plays/Musicals:

August and September have been so busy, with two weekends featuring doubleheaders of plays and musicals! When my sister Em was home over Labor Day, we saw "The Little Mermaid" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre on a Thursday night, and "The Book of Mormon" at the Orpheum on a Sunday!

The Chanhassen is always such a hilarious blast...it claims to be the largest working dinner theater in the country, and every time we go, we all order "The Famous Chicken Chanhassen" and a towering chocolate cake at intermission. The play itself was delightful! I unashamedly adore Disney despite my age, and the show brought the fun, lighthearted spirit of the movie to life with a fun set, amazing costumes, and talented singers. 

I've already seen "The Book of Mormon" (we went for my 24th birthday), but that didn't stop the evening from being insanely hilarious. The play is laugh-out-loud from start to finish, rife with off-color jokes and irreverent songs poking fun at everything from homosexuality to third-world poverty to AIDS. I can't recommend it highly enough...but unless your parents are cool like mine, maybe leave them at home!

This past weekend, I saw "The Heidi Chronicles" with Hal at the Guthrie on Friday and "Hello Dolly!" at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre with my grandma, godparents and parents on Sunday. Before I dive into those shows, I have to digress for a minute to rave about an amazing opportunity for any Twin Cities residents with a passion for theater. Hal and I are members of Open Call, the Guthrie's new society for young professionals, which means we get to attend four plays throughout the year in addition to happy hours and the season's opening Midsummer Night Gala. Every July on the evening of the Aquatennial Fireworks Show, the Guthrie hosts a cocktail gala for its donors and society members, so we got to get all dressed up, drink wine and watch the fireworks with this view: 

Not too shabby--I was totally having a Princess Jasmine moment. 

Anyway, "The Heidi Chronicles" blew both of us away! Neither of us were familiar with the play...we knew nothing, not the playwright, era, not even if it was a drama or comedy. We were so pleasantly surprised with its witty, sharp take on the evolution of feminism through the 60s, 70s, and 80s. We saw it on opening night, and I can't stress highly enough that YOU SHOULD GO. The set and sound design are fantastic, the show is smart and entertaining...just get thyself to the rush line and buy some day-of tickets, you don't want to miss this one. 

"Hello, Dolly!" was the total opposite end of the spectrum...but just as fabulous. I had never seen the show and couldn't claim familiarity with the music, but my entourage couldn't have been more excited. We also saw opening night--how fancy am I, seeing two opening nights in one weekend?! I just loved it! Though the show takes place in the 1890s, its charm, warmth and sweetness seemed timeless. 

Other Arts: 

In July, Hannah invited us to join her at the Pourhouse, of all places, for an aerial acrobatics show that her cousin was participating in. I went in having no idea what to expect, and that's probably a good thing, because I never would have expected what I saw. The show featured some burlesque, some fire-dancing, and a whole lot of this: 

Yes. Hanging and twisting and contorting, like 50 feet off the ground, in silks. It blew my mind in every way imaginable. These people managed to perform what I thought were super technical acrobatics, while looking calm, collected and graceful. I'd love to find somewhere to take a class...anyone in? 

Em and I checked out Gavin DeGraw and Matt Nathanson at the Myth when she was home over the Fourth of July. It was...meh. We got there late-ish, so we had a terrible view and missed most of the show from behind a pillar. That said, Gavin put on a dynamic, well-rounded show that featured all our old favorites as well as material off his new album. 

Finally, we checked out one of our local favorites, Dustin Hatzenbuhler, at Nicollet Island Pavilion in July. Dustin took voice from our old piano teacher, and we've followed his career on and off since I was in high school. Fun fact: he auditioned for The Voice and got some hefty TV time at the blind auditions! If you ever spot his name on a concert billing, definitely check him out--he's delightful. 

That about wraps up my summer...even as temperatures fall, I'm hoping to keep getting my butt to theaters, concert halls and clubs to keep up my Minneapolis art crawl!